Commercial Dispute, Civil Litigation, Criminal Investigation, Class Action, White-Collar Crime, Anti-Corruption & Anti-Money Laundering, Shareholder Activism, Corporate Governance, Restructuring & Reorganisation, Crisis Management, Regulatory Scrutiny & Investigation, General Corporate & Commercial
Industries
Financial Services (Banking, Finance & Insurance), Capital Markets & Securities, Energy & Natural Resources
Yonathan is Foster's Senior Partner in the Commercial Litigation, Antitrust and Insolvency Practice Group, with a primary focus in the areas of banking regulation and supervision, banking regulatory compliance, crisis management and corporate governance, and both commercial litigation and criminal litigation, including those related to financial reform, investments, general corporate and commercial, asset management, corporate restructuring, M&A and reorganisation in the financial services industry.
Yonathan has more than 35 years of experience practicing as an all-around litigator, transactional lawyer and also general counsel at various prominent Indonesian law firms and major domestic enterprises, including co-founding one of the most prestigious full-services local law firms in Indonesia in 2001. His practice spans multiple areas of banking and finance disputes and frauds, civil lawsuit, white collar criminal defense, criminal investigation, regulatory scrutiny and enforcement, including class-action, anti-corruption, shareholder activism, consumer protection, corporate internal investigation and anti-money laundering matters.
He previously served for 20 years as Executive Vice President in the Legal Department of PT Bank Central Asia Tbk ("BCA"), Indonesia's largest bank, a very strategic role during which he was in charge of the overall management, direction, strategies and supervision of BCA's legal and compliance department and legal professionals in the bank's headquarters. He has successfully supervised the planning, structuring, implementation and completion of BCA's strategic corporate actions in the last 20 years, managed the bank's asset management function, and also defended BCA in numerous trials, high-profile disputes and high-stakes cases, consistently delivering successful outcomes.
Yonathan has also led a multitude of internal and external investigations in relation to multi-party contentious matters and multifaceted fraud cases involving borrowers, consumers, vendors, suppliers and contractors, navigating intricate contractual and relational issues in the process. As an integral part of his critical and massive responsibilities in the bank, he successfully represented and acted as lead counsel for BCA in various trial matters comprising civil lawsuits at all levels of Indonesia’s judiciary—from district and high courts to the Supreme Court—criminal investigation and proceedings, including liaising and leading the end-to-end official correspondence with the Indonesian Police Headquarters and its Regional Offices, the High Court as well as the Supreme Court of Indonesia including district courts in various provinces in the country.
Among his standout cases, Yonathan represents a principal subsidiary of a large Chinese state-owned manufacturer of power generators on a high-value commercial dispute and tort lawsuit against a foreign investment mining company in Indonesia pertaining to alleged illegal utilisation, ownership and transfer of thermal power equipment.
Yonathan's strong leadership, proven competence, established reputation and extensive experience in the commercial litigation, civil lawsuit and complex financial services dispute arena as well as criminal and regulatory investigation areas support our multinational clients as they navigate the increasingly complex regulatory, investment, political and judicial landscape facing foreign investors in Indonesia.
Clients commend Yonathan for his in-depth understanding of the fundamentals and principles of Indonesia's applicable civil code, that is originated from Dutch's civil code, to craft rock-solid legal arguments and robust analysis in combination with his precise comprehension of the judges' perspectives, strong courtroom advocacy and proven stakeholder engagement capability.
In addition to litigation work, Yonathan frequently is tapped to serve as settlement counsel for his ability to forge resolutions in unique circumstances with mediation-first approaches that helps clients resolve conflicts amicably, swiftly and cost-effectively through decisive and well-managed out-of-court settlements, thereby avoiding costly and lengthy litigation exposure and process.
